Eye Health, Explained

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. We don't know if that's true, but what we do know that having perfectly healthy eyes—excellent vision and clear eyes, free of pain or other symptoms—are crucial to your health and well-being. The good news is that it's easy to learn more about eye problems, symptoms, and the treatments that will keep you in tip-top shape.

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. We don't know if that's true, but what we do know is that having perfectly healthy eyes—excellent vision and clear eyes, free of pain or other symptoms—are crucial to your health and well-being. The good news is that it's easy to learn more about eye problems, symptoms, and the treatmentsthat will keep you in tip-top shape.

About 21 million Americans have some type of vision problem, according to a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While many of these problems are relatively benign, such as mild nearsightedness, other eye conditions likeglaucoma and age-related macular degeneration can trigger vision loss and even blindness.

Although many people start developing eye diseases in middle age, their symptoms may not appear until later on, when the condition is more advanced and harder to treat. In fact, some people may not realize they have a vision problem at all until their eye doctor detects it during a routine screening or a comprehensive dilated eye exam, which checks your retina, optic nerve, eye pressure, and more.

The risk for developing an eye condition increases with age. But other factors can also up your odds of experiencing vision problems in the future. For example, African Americans and people with a family history of glaucoma may have a higher risk of developing the disease. And people who have diabetes can develop a condition called diabetic retinopathy, which can damage their retinas. By detecting eye diseases such as these and treating them as soon as possible, experts estimate that nearly half of all vision loss and blindness could be prevented.

Symptoms of eye disease

In some cases, the symptoms of certain eye diseases can overlap with others. For example, watery eyes could be a sign of pink eye (conjunctivitis), allergies, or a sty;likewise, light sensitivity could indicate a cataract, migraine, or chalazion (a bump on the eyelid). Resting your eyes might help ease symptoms, but in general, if you’re experiencing severe or lasting pain, you should call a doctor right away.

Below, some of the most common symptoms of eye diseases:

• Blurriness
• Discharge
• Flashes of light
• Irritation
• Light sensitivity
• Pain
• Tearing
• Vision loss

It may sound crazy, but certain eyedrops actually exacerbate dry eye symptoms.

“Avoid the drops that ‘get the red out,’” Dr. Maskin cautions. Visine (tetrahydrozoline ophthalmic), for one, works by narrowing blood vessels to the eyes to reduce redness. But when the drops wear off, the vessels dilate and can become inflamed again.

“The key is to find out what’s causing the redness, not to try to hide the redness,” he says.

Treatment for eye disease

Eye doctors will usually treat refractive errors like nearsightedness and farsightedness with glasses or contacts.But more serious eye diseases may be treated with a combination of medications or surgery. In many cases, the best way to protect your vision is to have regular screenings, including comprehensive dilated eye exams. By detecting eye conditions in their early stages, it’s possible to prevent vision loss from becoming worse with age.

Here, a few common eye disease treatments:

• Refractive surgery, a procedure that can help correct refractive errors, such as nearsightedness or astigmatism (LASIK is a type of refractive surgery).
• Corneal transplantation to replace either part or all of a damaged cornea.
• Oral steroids, medications that can treat inflammatory eye conditions such as uveitis, a serious, potentially vision-damaging inflammation of the uvea, the middle layer of the eye.

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Most common eye issues and problems

The most common eye issues in the United States are classified as refractive errors, which include myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), astigmatisms(blurry vision), and presbyopia (an inability to focus on objects up close). While many of these vision problems can be corrected with the help of eyeglasses, contacts, or surgery, millions of Americans have more serious eye conditions that can eventually lead to vision loss or blindness. This includes diseases like age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma.

Here are some eye issues you can develop:

• Refractive errors
• Cataracts
• Optic neuritis, an inflammation of the optic nerve
• Retinal diseases, such as a retinal tear or detachment
• Macular degeneration
• Glaucoma
• Conjunctivitis
• Diabetic eye problems, such as diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema

Glaucoma

Glaucoma occurs when fluid pressure increases in the eye, damaging the optic nerve. People with glaucoma can lose their vision and eventually become blind, and the disease is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. Early treatment—through eye drops or surgery—may help slow the disease’s progression and prevent vision loss. People can develop glaucoma at any age, but it usually affects older adults.